Dino Buzzati

Italian, 1906-1972

Dino was born at San Pellegrino, Belluno, in his family’s ancestral villa. In 1924, he began a law degree at the University of Milan, but before he could finish it he was hired by the Milanese newspaper Corriere della Sera. He continued to write for the Corriere until his death, while simultaneously publishing prolific amounts of fantastical fiction: novels, plays for theater and radio, short stories, poetry, opera librettos, and children’s books. An accomplished artist, he also produced a comic book version of the myth of Orpheus. Buzzati said of the connection between his journalism and fiction: “It seems to me, fantasy should be as close as possible to journalism. … The effectiveness of a fantastic story will depend on its being told in the most simple and practical terms.”